On Certain Early Forms of Stone Implements in Use Among the Inhabitants of New Zealand Author(s): James Hector Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 5 (1876), pp. 458-464 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2841117 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 18:24 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 468 JAMES HECTOR.-Early Formsof StoneImnplements streamsascend into the heart of Asia to the veryhomes and centresof the Mongolianpopulation, while the lands along muchof theircourse is knownto be richlyfertile. If we con- ceive,what w-as probably the case, a seriesof wavesof emigra- tion,at considlerableintervals of timeand by differentrivers, thereis no difficultyin supposing that, when the different groups of emigrantsmet again a longperiod afterwards, after having traversedthousands of miles of ocean from their original homes, theywould not recognise one another as familieswho had been onceakin. Unletteredpopulations would not draw the inferences as to originsand ancestries,which are easilydiscerned by the comparativephilologists of Europe. I believe,therefore, that some such theory as thisis sufficient to accountfor the substantialunity of all the Polynesian dialects,and to accountalso forthe proportion of Malaywords and formsdetected in someof them. I cannotadmit that these languagesare derivedfrom the Malay,but it is, on the other hand, not im-probablethat the tribeswe now call Malays, descending,originally, also, from Central Asia, did followthe S.E. line of the Brabmaputra,Irrawaddy, &c., while the largerbodies of the Polynesians followed the course of Chinese rivers, at a period long anteriorto the Malay descent, graduallycrossing the Pacificby the stepping-stonesof the innumerableislands to be foundbetween the 20th and 20'th parallelsof N. latitude. Nearerthan this I fearwe have little chanceof getting. On CERTAIN EARLY FORMS of STONE IMPLEMENTS in use among the INEABITANTS of NEW ZEALAND. By JAMES HECTOR, M.D., C.M.G., F.R.S. DR. HECTOR,before describing the collection of New Zealand and ChathamIsland Stone Implements,which he exhibited,referred to some pointsin the ethnographyof the IMlaorirace not men- tionedin the foregoingpaper. He dismissedas untenablethe theory that some persons advanced, of the Maoris being autochthones,or a remnantof a formerrace now representedby isolated groups,through the submergenceof a great continental area, and expressedhis acquiescencewith Mr. Vaux respecting the origin of the Maoris as migrantsin common with other Polynesians,but thoughtthat thisgeneral way of dealing with the subject ratheravoided than settled the issue of greatest interestto the New Zealand student,which is the period of the firstsettlement of the islands by Maoris,and whetherthe whole Maori populationhad a commonorigin from one migration. This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in useamony the Inhabitants of New Zealand. 459 Accordingto the census of 1874, the number of Maoris in New Zealand was 45,470, of whom43,538 dwell in the North Island, and only 1,932 in the South Island and otheradjacent islands." This disproportionin the numericaldistribution of the Maoris is no doubtdue to the more favourableconditions in the north fortheir open-air mode of life,and forthe cultivationof the few simple vegetableswhich, with fish,form their staple food,the differenceof climatebetween the extremes of New Zealand being nearlyequal to that experiencedin passing fromthe South of Italy to the Northof Scotland. This disproportionmust always have existed,and the littleknown of the historyof the occupa- tionoftheSouth Island showsthat it was colonisedfrom the North Island by numerouswarlike migrations,and that the Maoris settlingin the south soon degenerated both in habits and in physical appearance,so that theyinight be taken for members ofa distinctrace. In the NorthIsland, on the otherhand, the populationhas increaseduntil the countrywas fullyoccupied; but duringthis increasecertain original divisions of the people have been preserved,so that there are now eighteendistinct tribes,each with subordinate" hapus," which maintain their individualityof interestto a markeddegree. For instance,each " hapu" has its own traditionaltitles to land so well definedthat special Native Land Courtshave been constitutedin the colony fortheir investigation and conversioninto documentarytitles. The testimonygiven by old Maoris during these trials about events of generationspast is statedto be perfectlyharmonious, and thereis no reason to doubt the truth of their traditional history,and to referthe whole of it to the class of poetical myths,as maintainedby Schirrenand others.t The same language is spokenby all the Maoris, thoughwith * Generalcensus, including estimates of certaintribes. Males. Females. Sex not stated. Total. N. I. ......... 23,308 ......... 19,458 ......... 772 ......... 43,538 S. I. ......... 1,055 ......... 877 ......... - ........ 1,932 Total ..... 24,363 ......... 20,335 ......... 772 ......... 45,470 Selectedcensus from accurate returns respecting thirteen friendly tribes in the North Island. Males. Females. Under 15. Above 15. Under 15. Above 15. 6,079 .... 11,209 .. , . 5,225,,,, ............... 9,132 Total Males ...............,,, 17,288 ,, Females..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. 14,357 Total..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. 31,645 -Pariamenttary Papers for NetvZealand, 1875. t " Die Wandersagender New Seelander,1856." Quotctlby Hochetetter. This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 460 JAMES HECTOR.-Early Formsof StomeIqmpemets local dialects,of whichthe Moriori,or ChathamIsland dialect, is the mostdistinct. The chiefmental peculiarity of the Maoris is their acute power of comparison,which is more highly developedthan is usual in uncivilisedraces. From this circum- stance theirvocabularies are extensive,and even trivialobjects, such as useless plants,receive the same names throughoutthe islands. This was consideredto indicatethat the language of the earliestobservers in the countrywas still in use, and that theremust have been free communication,probably round the coast, ever sincethe firstoccupation of the islands. It was pointedout, that thoughthe traditionalstories of the Maoris may be in the main acceptedas true,yet it is not likely that we have a completehistory. Our recorded knowledge of the language and traditionsis chieflyderived from missionaries and otherexperts in a fewlocalities, and relates-chiefly to such mattersas the inquirerswere themselves most interested in. This is an importantconsideration when it is soughtto use the early collected traditionsas negative evidence,while it is obvious that no traditionscollected during the last thirtyyears, since the diffusionof Europeanideas and education,should be accepted as provingan absence of knowledgeof eventsor objects on the part of the natives. Apart fromtraditions, however, much can be inferredcon- cerningthe past historyof the Mlaorisfrom observation. When the countrywas firstsettled by Europeans,some thirty-fiveor fortyyears ago, therewere still evidencesthat in theirprimitive statethe islands of New Zealandwere covered with forest or dense scrubby vegetation,but that fromlarge areas, where a dry climateprevailed, the originalvegetation had been removedby numerousburnings. This process has been carried on by the Europeans, so that except whereexcessive moisturestays the destruction-as, for instance,on the west coast-the countryis convertedinto open pasture land. On the charred surfaceof the countrythe firstEuropeans foundeverywhere bones of the moa birdsplentifully strewn. The Maori term " moa " includes 18 or 20 differentspecies of birdsof stuthioushabit, some of mas- siveproportions, and havinga statureof 10 feet. As firstclearly proved by Mlantell,the destructionof these giganticbirds was effectedby the MIaoris,and the remainsof their feastson these birds are to be found in all favourableplaces roundthe coasts and up in the interior. When Mr. Mlantellwas commissionerfor the purchaseof the south-eastdistrict of the colony,where these moa birdsformerly abounded and were last exterminated,certain nativesclaimed title to the land, on the groundthat it was their ancestor that firstset fire to the countrywhen engaged in hluntingmoas. There can be no doubtthat the chase of themoas This content downloaded from 195.34.79.158 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:24:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in use amnmgthe Inhabitants qf NewZealand. 461 must have attracteda large numberof Maoris fromthe North Island afterit was